The Ravens enjoyed some defensive improvement last week against the Chargers. But don’t get carried away yet. There were still a bunch of mistakes. And the real defensive test looms against the powerful Eagles offense. Let’s take a look at this, and a bit more.
Defensive Improvement in the Secondary?
Let’s review the defensive transformations. Eddie Jackson and Marcus Williams are out at safety. Ar’Darius Washington and Kyle Hamilton are in on the back end. Brandon Stephens has been relegated to a part time role at cornerback, with Tre’Davious White his rotational partner. Yannick Ngakoue is gone on the edge. David Ojabo is a healthy scratch (he likely won’t be against the Eagles). Odafe Oweh is more of a situational pass rusher (though not entirely) and Tavius Robinson gets more snaps than Oweh. Adissa Isaac is now getting snaps on the edge.
That’s a lot of personnel changes. Plus, Zach Orr is calling a bit more man coverages and less zone combinations. All of this is directed at improving the pass defense. What did we see from last week’s effort?
Defensive Improvement: Tre’Davious White
The 29 year-old White has played much better than some (including me) expected. For one, his man cover skills are still evident and he’s largely done a solid job as a press cover corner. Against the Chargers I noted at least five man cover plays where White was in excellent position, and a few where his eyes were back to the ball. White’s speed still hasn’t been tested; we don’t yet know whether he can keep contact when he turns and runs. We will likely find out this week. White also has grasped Orr’s zone concepts reasonably well, as he seamlessly transitioned a couple of plays last week.
On balance, White’s play has been an upgrade over Brandon Stephens, who continues to struggle. Frankly, I didn’t see his poor play coming this season. And that poor play continued against the Chargers. Based on the tape alone, White presents a better alternative at the moment, and deserves the playing time.
The Revolutionaries
Hamilton and Washington will remain the back-end safeties. Washington made too many mistakes last week. It started with the second play of the game, when he was not adequately aware of his surroundings and blew up Marlon Humphrey’s cross-field man coverage, leading to a 17-yard Chargers gain.
Late in the second quarter, Washington was in a deep zone when a Chargers receiver turned him completely around and then exploded past him for what should have been an easy Chargers touchdown. Only a poor pass saved him. Washington’s play recognition was poor on this one.
On the first play of the Chargers first second half drive Washington jumped up from the back end for no apparent reason. The receiver immediately blew past him and was wide open for a big gain. But Justin Herbert didn’t see it and threw to another open receiver underneath.
Secretary Hamilton didn’t avoid making mistakes either. On the Chargers next to last drive of the game they ran four simultaneous go routes on one play. Three of them were well covered. Hamilton’s wasn’t, as he was beaten badly on this deep route, only to be saved by Herbert, again, not seeing the open receiver. This was an easy touchdown that Herbert missed.
You simply can’t have this number of mistakes on the back end and get away with it on any regular basis. The Revolutionaries must clean this up, or those Eagles talons will cut them up.
The Pass Rushers
Kyle Van Noy is out this week against Philadelphia. Generating a pass rush from their healthy edge rushers is a serious problem for the Ravens. Repeatedly I beg the tape to show me some rush moves – any moves – from Tavius Robinson. But it’s not happening, and I don’t think it ever will. Robinson is willing. He gives great effort. He’s done a solid (though not spectacular) job in the run game. But he just doesn’t threaten the quarterback, and there’s no reason for anyone to double team or chip him. To this point in his career he’s “just another guy.” Robinson’s true pass set rush percentage is a God-awful 52.5.
In the brief play he’s had, Adissa Isaac has shown zero – yes, zero – pass rush moves. There’s nothing in his repertoire so far. He’s a bull rush only guy who easily stalls out. Ideally, he wouldn’t be playing, as he needs a big off-season to develop some pass rush skills.
David Ojabo is going to get another chance this week. Will that amount to anything? Ojabo’s true pass set rush percentage is a mere 60.4.
All of this leaves the Ravens with just Odafe Oweh as a competent edge rusher this week. Although Oweh has faded a bit over the last several weeks, he’s still logging a decent 73.3 true pass set rush rate (25th in the league for rushers playing at least 50% of the sets). Van Noy is 17th in the league. Against the Eagles, generating an effective pass rush will be a challenge.
Blitzing
No doubt Zach Orr will scheme a variety of blitzes against the Eagles. This is tricky, as Jalen Hurts will tuck and run, and the Ravens must not run up the arc and surrender the edge to him. Presuming DeVonta Smith plays, the Ravens will face the best duo of wide receivers they’ve seen all year, with a solid tight end (Dallas Goedert) to boot. Smith’s presence or absence will have a large impact on the game. Corner and corner slot blitzes should figure prominently. I hope Orr opts not to blitz Roquan Smith. Not only is Smith recovering from a hamstring issue, but he’s struggled all year peeling out of “A” gap blitzes back into zones. Let’s hope Orr avoids that against Philadelphia.
But this week figures to include more blitz risk to the Ravens back end. It’s hard to see how else they will generate pressure. Expect to see more stunting from the Ravens as they try to defeat Hurts. Malik Harrison, who had a great game against the run last week, showed some blitzing proficiency when used as a bludgeon against the interior line. And I’d prefer to see Trenton Simpson moving around as a blitzer over Smith. Simpson is faster and has shown more fluidity changing direction to chase the quarterback.
Pass Coverages This Week
Notwithstanding the mistakes noted above, there were a bunch of examples last week of better zone pass offs and understanding responsibilities. Moreover, the man coverages were once again solid. Nate Wiggins continues to improve and though he’s not playing clean, his recovery speed gives him a chance even when he’s beaten. Wiggins is getting better. Against the Eagles, with Smith and A.J. Brown down the field, more man coverage seems like the preferred approach. But if they fail to contain Hurts in the pocket, those man coverages can slam you when he becomes a runner. On balance, I’d take the risk of the latter.
The Chargers didn’t run as many four receiver sets as some other Ravens opponents. Nor did they possess receivers who scare you. Not the Eagles.
Ravens Run Defense
The Eagles offensive line teamed with Saquan Barkley will provide the sternest challenge to the Ravens run defense. The inside linebackers must make the right reads in the run game, not overshoot the gaps, and avoid second-tier blocks. Travis Jones is a key element for the Ravens in stopping Barkley. He remains very effective and, ankle injury notwithstanding, continues his dominant play on the inside. Michael Pierce, if he plays, will give the Ravens a lot more than what we’ve seen from Brent Urban. Support from the back end, Ar’Darius Washington and Kyle Hamilton in particular, is important. One can expect a good amount of play action from the Eagles if Barkley finds his way to the safeties. Play action could be deadly.
The Offensive Juggernaut
The Chargers defense joined everyone else in failing to stop the Ravens perfectly balanced attack. The Ravens offensive line played well though not perfectly against them. Tyler Linderbaum was not entirely himself, and Daniel Faalele rode a bit of a roller coaster in the run game. As a group, the line lacked drive in the run game. They are adequate on the move in zone blocking, but power is definitely lacking in this group. To me, a lot of the run game success comes from the overall challenges presented by the Ravens outstanding skill position talent.
No doubt Jalen Carter will be a very tough challenge on the interior. But with Darius Slay Jr. out, the Eagles may have their own challenge trying to defend the Ravens receiving corp. To date, the only group that has had success stopping the Ravens offense has been the Ravens offense. If they can keep their mistakes down, the Eagles defense will get their test. You just have to like the overall matchups this week.
The Ravens pass protection has been superb recently. Against the Chargers they yielded only five pressures and surrendered no sacks. Lamar is rarely challenged inside of three seconds, and both Roger Rosengarten and Faalele continue to improve. The group must prevent Carter from blowing up the pocket.
The Ravens receivers regularly get wide open. It’s too much for opponents to handle. Once again, Rashod Bateman is open all over the field. Yes, Lamar misses enough deep balls to drive this blogger crazy, but because the group keeps working and is so good, he hits enough to get this offense to 30 points per game.
With Charlie Kolar out for a while, we’ll see if this means Mark Andrews plays more on running downs. Andrews continues to look great down the field. To me, anytime you can get him alone with a safety or linebacker, I’ll take it. And that’s available just about every passing play. Defenses just can’t devote more resources to Andrews anymore because of Flowers, Bateman, and the gang. Andrews has been terrific chipping on Rosengarten’s side and then releasing. Open, open, open!
Big Game
This is a big game for the Ravens from the perspective of where they stand in the league. Next to the Lions, the Eagles are playing the best ball in the NFL. They look as complete as anyone. Of the four major units on the field, the Ravens have the worst (their defense). The play of that unit will likely determine the outcome.
Best Teams in the League So Far
As of now, here’s my top ten:
- Detroit
- Philadelphia
- Buffalo
- Baltimore
- Kansas City (I don’t believe in them yet).
- Green Bay
- Minnesota
- Houston
- Pittsburgh
- Los Angeles Chargers
